The Fault Within
by Tricky26
Summary: A great evil is threatening Diala and the land around it. The only Adept within miles of Diala is considered to be an outcast among his people. Will he be able to save his world, even if no one, including himself, believes he can do it? (In future Weyard)
1. Chapter 1

**---Disclaimer—I do not own Golden Sun or anything like that. This is a complete fan work and is not official in any way.**

If you like action packed stories with things blowing up, DO NOT READ ON! This is a story mainly about a deep internal struggle going on for a boy named Lyndon. It will include heavy emotions and may even make you cry. Okay, maybe it won't, but it will probably get you sad. And no, this has nothing to do with my life.

So, please read and enjoy! I'd appreciate any reviews. Criticism is allowed.

**Prologue **

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I remember those days all too well. I was an outcast among my people. The kid in the corner who had no friends; the one nobody wanted to be around. I was, what many people would call, a failure.

I was ridiculed and harassed, all because of my abilities. I was different from all of them. I was a Mercury Adept. I learned it all through my journey. That time I lived in was very different from the past. Adepts were not abundant. I discovered that I had inherited this power from a distant ancestor. I learned a lot.

I still have scars from my childhood. They will never heal. I have overcome the fault within me, but the journey was not easy.

This is my story. The story of how I was forced to overcome everything. I needed to defeat the evil that was threatening us. I had to conquer the power of the opposing forces. I had to endure the hardships people around me created. I had to learn what I did not understand. I had to not fear the emotions.

But most of all, I had to believe in myself.

**Chapter 1**

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"H-hey guys, can I p-play?" I said softly to the other kids. They were playing a game everyone in Daila called Bounceball. The players dribbled a ball on a hard surface with their hands, bouncing it up and down as they went. To score in the hoops that were raised off the ground, they needed to punt the ball with their feet in the net.

"Get away, Lyndon," said Erik, who was one of the more "popular, cool kids" in Daila. "No one wants you here." He turned around and resumed playing.

"But I can play!" I protested.

Erik stopped what he was doing. With a glare in his eyes, he said fiercely and slowly to me, "No, you can't. It would not be fair. Whichever team had you would lose."

Everyone else stopped the game immediately and stared at me. They wanted me to be gone. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I thought I could play just as well as everyone else could.

"Erik, can you just give me a chance?"

Erik looked back to some of his buddies. They let out a laugh, as if they were mocking me. The biggest of his friends threw the ball to Erik.

"Here's the deal, Lyndon. If you can kick this ball into the net from here, you can play," Erik said. He laughed at he handed the ball to me. Everyone else let out a small giggle, which eventually turned into a round of laughter.

_This is it_, I thought. _This is my big chance to show them what I'm made of._ I held the ball in my hands, and stationed it a little above waist height. I took a gulp, and let the ball drop down.

I wound up my left leg and sprung forward. I was sure I was going to hit the ball smack on.

But I didn't. My foot missed the ball, and my leg went high into the air. I fell on my back, in the only patch of mud on the entire field. Everyone burst into hysterical fits of laughter.

Even Mayg, the one girl who was nice to me, couldn't muffle her laughing.

I felt like a total loser. I knew I was, too. I couldn't even complete the simplest of things: kick a ball across the field. And in doing so, I had made a fool of myself. I was ashamed to be who I was. I wanted to just lie down in a ditch and die.

I wanted to rid my soul of this suffering. _Anything would be better than this_, I thought.

I tried my best to stifle the tears from coming. But I couldn't. I just couldn't. I had been humiliated to such an extent I couldn't take it any more. I got up quickly and brushed the mud and dirt of my back, then ran off as fast as I could. All the while I could hear the snickers of the other children.

I didn't hold back now. A single tear rolled down my cheek. Soon, they were rolling freely. I sniffed as I went. My chest felt so heavy. I slowed my pace down to a walk. My head was looking straight at the ground. I continued to sob, walking the streets by myself.

That is when I suddenly started to get angry. I was furious. I couldn't pinpoint who I was mad at, but I was agitated by someone. It was most likely myself who I was mad at. It always was. I hated myself. But for a split second, I thought I felt a speck of rage to the other children. It was the first time in many months I had been angry at someone other than myself. I thrust out my hands in aggravation.

But most of all, I still hated the person who I was.

Then strangely, clouds started to form over the sky. What made it all the more weird, though, was that the sun was shining brightly previously. There was not a cloud in sight. The sun was beating down on me hard. But the clouds came in, and they covered up the rays.

The whole land became dark. Raindrops began to fall. They pelted me, and soon my clothes became drenched.

Little did I know that I had cast Psynergy. I was too misinformed at the time, so I just presumed it was a natural effect. But I now know that I was special. I possessed the power of Mercury. I could manipulate the molecules of water, whether I intended to or not.

I picked up my pace to a brisk walk, and then I reached an all-out sprint to my house.

I rocketed off as fast as I could. I reached the wooden door and pulled it open as quickly as possible. I dashed inside.

I still had the tears on my face. Luckily, my father, who was sitting on the couch, thought it was just rain. And I was thankful for that. He never understands me. Even he ridicules me sometimes. But if he knew what I went through every day, he would never say a bad thing about me again.

I didn't even say "hello" to him. I just was focused on getting to my room as quickly as possible. I got up stairs and ran into my room, and then shut the door with a loud "BANG". It was the one place I was safe from the world. I was always alone, and it made me feel safe.

It was the only place others couldn't hurt me.

How I longed for a lifetime of permanent solitude. What I would give to live my life alone, with no human interaction. _I just want to leave this place_, I thought. _I want to live somewhere where I belong. _

I wanted to have one single friend. Was that too much to ask?

My father heard the loud noise the door had caused. He came upstairs and put his ear on the door. He could hear my soft sniffles. I had not ceased my crying.

Without even knocking, he opened the door and came in.

"…Lyndon?" He said to me. His face did not look like he neither cared about me, nor was he mad at me.

His big, gruff body moved towards me. His thick curly hair bounced slightly as he approached. The deep, green eyes he had started into me, as if they were viewing the darkest pit of my heart. He reached out a strong hand and touched me on the back.

"You okay?" He said to me, in a somewhat comforting tone.

I sniffed and spoke in a nasally voice. "Yes. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Lyndon, you're 13 years old. You really have to stop doing this. Are you still a baby? Do you need me to sing you a lullaby each night, and feed you a bottle?"

Oh, how I wanted to cry even more. But I couldn't. I just couldn't. Not in front of my father. Whenever I was disappointed in myself, I was infuriated that I couldn't even have a tale to please my father. He was never proud of me.

To him, I was useless.

To myself, I was useless.

I was nobody.

I had no purpose.

Or so I thought.


	2. Chapter 2

I hope you enjoy this one. I personally don't think it's amazing, but it gets the job done. The first chapter was mainly and introducing one: you learned what things Lyndon went through, practically every day. You will get to know him much more in the coming chapters.

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**Chapter 2**

_Why do they hate me so?_ I kept on thinking. I could not figure it out, no matter how hard I worked my brain. I wasn't that mean. I tried to be nice to everyone. I was kind of athletic. Other than the fact that I had royally messed up that kick yesterday, I was usually pretty decent at sports.

And I certainly wasn't ugly, overweight, or anything else that often got people ostracized.

I stared into the mirror at my reflection. My long, shoulder blue hair was a light, almost white blue color. It was near the same tone as the foam on the sea, with a tint of green. My sapphire blue eyes were deep and mysterious. I had on a dark blue vest lined with gold buttons. The vest was open to show my white undershirt. I wore light blue pants that I could easily roll up when it was hot out. My boots were a little above my ankle and shaded a dim white with a hint of blue, trimmed with black on the edges.

I remember once, an elder had said my face was similar to that of the hero, Piers. I didn't understand what she meant, but she explained it to me. He was one of the eight heroes who saved our world. I was proud to bear his likeness.

I soon learned why they grew to hate me.

My stomach startled to growl, and I realized I had not eaten breakfast yet. Hurrying downstairs, I quickly sat at the table.

My dad was there, cooking some toasted bread. He just finished toasting it as I entered. He took out some spices and butter, and topped the bread with it. Putting them on a large plate, he sat down and placed the serving in the center of the table.

"Eat up, Lyndon," he said to me. "You have to grow big and strong, like me someday."

I shrugged. I was small for my size, but I didn't like to think about it. I took some pieces of toast and began to nibble on it.

"So, Lyndon, how is everything going?" he asked me. It was one of those rare times where he was actually interested in my life.

I took another bite out of my meal and put it down. "Fine," I replied.

"You seem troubled. Is anything bothering you?" he questioned me.

I couldn't tell him. He didn't need to know. He'd just make fun of me. "I said, I'm fine. Don't worry."

He gave an unsatisfied look. "If you say so…"

We then continued to eat our food in silence. When I was finished, I got up from the table and began to head towards my room.

"Lyndon," he said to me, getting up from the table. "I need you to get something for me."

I stopped abruptly, and turned around. "What is it?" I said in a disgruntled voice. I didn't want to run any stupid errands for him.

"Go to the market and buy some milk for us. We're all out of it. Here, take this," he said. He pulled some money out of his wallet and rested it in my hands.

"Be back as soon as you can. Goodbye."

I sighed and put the money in my pocket. I opened the door and went outside.

The sun was still rising, shining its golden rays upon the town. I walked among the streets, taking the alleys around the houses for the shortest way possible. I soon reached the temple, and then took the path from there.

As I was walking down a side street, I felt something nick the side of my head.

"Damn it, I missed!" I could hear someone mumble. However, I could not see the source of the voice.

I shrugged and continued to walk. But suddenly, something sharp and hard collided into the back of my head. I cried out, and fell to the ground.

"Ha, nice shot Erik!" I could hear someone shout. Everyone started to laugh. Soon they all began to throw those dangerous rocks at me.

I just laid there helpless. I could only sit and whimper as they chucked the objects at me, cutting my skin and letting blood fly freely. The wound on the back of my head started to leak thick, red blood, which caused my neck to become wet. My clothes began to become damp from the blood the rocks were causing to my body.

But miraculously, I did not cry. Even as they continued to assault me, I never faltered. I stayed motionless on the ground, covering my head with my arms, but I did not break into tears.

They had ambushed me, for no reason at all. They just wanted to pick on me again. The feeling of being a failure sunk into my mind again. I became infuriated with them. I wasn't mad at myself, for some reason. I was disgusted and appalled at their behavior. They were teenagers. They should know better than to treat me this way.

I clenched my fists and concentrated. I slowly got up, my clothes torn and ruined. They still continued to go into their fits of laughter, but I was too angry to care.

I focused my energy. I was ready to severely maim those jerks. I wouldn't let them push me around. With blood and sweat leaking into my eyes, I let out a cry of stinging pain and launched my fist into the space in front of me, heading towards the attackers.

But instead of physically harming them, something happened. My body began to glow a magical color. A deep humming sound became emitted from the area around us. The bullies gawked in astonishment at was happening behind me.

I continued to channel the rage flowing inside of me. I was no longer able to control it. All the harassment I had received through my years was snowballing inside of me, and I had just unleashed it.

An enormous howling noise pierced through the sky, letting off an astonishing roar. Gargantuan chunks of ice began to plummet from the sky and pummel my opponents. I stood and watched the cataclysmic effect. All I could see was a blur of blue and white. The ice continued to fly down from the sky. I heard screams of agony as the enemies were annihilated.

Moments later it had ended. I stood at the heap of mangled bodies that I had caused. The massacre was truly outstanding. Although I hated them with all my heart, I was thankful they were not dead.

_Painful suffering is better than death_, I thought. _They deserve this_.

Erik, bloody and worn, spoke up. "Look, Lyndon, I don't know what in the bloody hell you just did, but you will pay for this, you little son of a bitch. You are a freak, you damn bastard. You will never be one of us. You are an outcast. You do not belong. You will die at our hands."

I stared at him.

"Get away, you freak. FREAK. GET AWAY, YOU FREAK! ENJOY YOUR TIME ALIVE!" Erik shouted. His voice reverberated throughout the land.

I was terrified. I ran home as fast as I could. I didn't even bother getting any milk. I just ran into my room and fell onto my bed. I tried to ponder what had caused that magic to happen, but I had no idea.

But most of all, I was horrified. They would torment me more than ever now. And quite frankly, I was scared out of my mind.

I knew why they hated me, though. I was different. Without warning, I would create something strange. It had happened in the past. All of a sudden, I caused something destructive to happen. I didn't know how to control it at the time, so these events were quite random. That must have been why they loathed me: I was a Pandora's Box. They never knew when I would let out the power hidden within me. They couldn't trust me, because even I couldn't trust myself.

Throughout the journey, I learned to control this power. If I hadn't, we all would have died.

But, because I had been bestowed with the gift of an Adept, my life had become a living horror.

And yet, it seemed as if the worst had just begun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The days passed. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. My life pretty much stayed the same. I never was perceived as being "normal". I had reached the age of sixteen, and I still had no friends. I grew into a fine young man. I worked out in my spare time, toning my muscles and becoming exceptionally strong.

Ever since that day where I tore apart Erik and the others, everything changed. They never looked at me the same way again. They teased me less and less; they always remembered what I did to them. In a way, they feared me. Honestly, it wasn't common for a kid to call upon magic like that.

And to think my life would get better. Oh, how I was wrong. Sure, they ceased their bullying. It seemed as if everything would be perfect, my main problem had been solved.

But the largest threat to my soul was still there, and it was getting more powerful each day: myself.

I still had serious doubts about my existence. I never knew why I was alive. I felt like no one wanted me there—I just didn't belong. I always had trouble believing in myself. I never thought I was good enough to do anything.

But one day, the hardest confrontation of all had come. It was the day I reached sixteen years of age: the age a Dalian boy became a man.

It was in the dark of night. I had been having reoccurring dreams of a horrid seen. Something so terrible, I awoke with a start every time, sweating profusely and shaking uncontrollably. They all depicted a similar seen—a creature comprised of the Shadows, robbing the souls of people. The victims were always the people around me, the ones who I cared about the most.

But on this night, the most horrific one of them all had fallen upon me. I was the one being attacked by the monster.

The wispy, ethereal figure hovered around my body. A wretched, eerie moaning emitted from the ghastly form. With an ear-splitting shriek, the beast charged forward, colliding into my body, robbing me of my soul.

I screamed. I got up out of bed, my sheets wet from my sweat. My hands would not stop shaking. I paced around my room. I looked in the mirror at myself. My brow was dripping with sweat; my face pale and cold.

I wandered back to my bed and fell on it, staring at the ceiling. The haunting cries of the monster echoed in my mind.

I felt as if I would die at that very moment. I was in a state of pure anguish. I no longer knew who I was. All I could feel was every negative feeling conjured by a human spirit. Sadness, guilt, tension, stress. The list went on and on. It soon became too much for me.

I howled in distress and fell to the floor. I lay on the ground, withering around like a fish out of water.

Every time I closed my eyes the haunting images of the creature invaded my thoughts. This nightmare was far worse than any dream; it seemed as if it was reality.

I decided to take action. I would not let this creature control me, whether it was real or not. I needed to cleanse it from my mind.

I closed my eyes, concentrating on defeating the thing. At first, all I saw was the blank sea of white in the depths of my thoughts. Then it came. The creature slowly formed, gathering up the Shadows. The black clouds accumulated until the full shape of the demon was created.

I had never strained my powers this much. This moment meant everything to me—I had to conquer this fear inside of me.

The demonic force approached me. A chilling wave ran through my body. The hairs on my neck pricked up, and goose bumps rose on my arms and legs. I kept my eyes shut and kept the matter at hand as my top priority. No matter how scared I became, I needed to stay strong.

The monster poised to strike. It made that high pitched noise, the noise it creates before it strikes.

I knew I had to act now. This was the moment where it would overcome me.

But it didn't have to go that way.

As if from instinct, I searched the chambers in my soul and mind. I traversed the many passage ways at a rapid rate, searching for the way to vanquish the opponent. At last I stumbled across the answer.

I tapped into the energy hidden within me, and released it. A brilliant, holy light spread out across the battlefield I had imagined. The light crept closer to the monster of the Shadows. It quickly encased the dark creature in a bath of light.

An atrocious moaning noise filled my ears. I covered my ears up with my hands. I forced myself to keep my eyes shut. I thrashed about violently; sweating even more than before. I screamed in agony as the light brightened to an unimaginable strength, and the moaning increased in volume. The pain was unbearable.

But I never gave in to the dark powers.

The light overpowered the dark force. Looking at the imaginary battleground, the dark ghost was gone.

I had done it. I had triumphed over the evil. I opened my eyes.

I was fine. My sweating had ceased; I could control my actions. But what exactly had taken place? It was merely a dream, but it seemed much real. That evil was a reality to me.

And for some reason, I was the only person capable of defeating that power.

The next week a terrible tragedy occurred. A baby, only a few months old, had passed away. No one knew how she died. Her mother left her in the crib at night, and the entire family began to sleep. The next morning, little baby Alma was dead.

The same thing happened the week after, except to a nine year old. His family went to sleep, and when they woke up, his life was gone.

The months went on. The deaths continued to occur. It started off as happening just once a week. Later on it rose to two lives lost in a week, and then to three. Soon it reached the peak of its damage, four lives a week.

All the while, we had never figured out what was going on. Our messengers reported this phenomenon wasn't taking place in the other villages and cities. It was truly a work of an enigma; everyone was clueless.

But exactly six months past my sixteenth birthday, I figured out what was happening.

It was the creature from my dreams.

I woke up at two o'clock A.M. I went to the kitchen sink to pour myself a glass of water. As I approached the room, I could tell something was not right. My father's room was downstairs, near the kitchen. As I was getting my drink, I could sense it.

It had returned.

I could hear the low moaning coming from his room. Putting my glass down, I walked slowly to the bedroom. I peaked inside; the door was open.

The monster was slowly creeping towards my dad. It continued to emit that eerie moaning. The wispy shadows it was made of slowly glided through the air. My father remained sound asleep.

Then it happened.

The beast let out that horrid screeching noise. It charged forth, plummeting into my father.

I watched in silence. My dad began to quiver and shake. He was experiencing the same symptoms I had long ago.

I could tell he was at the point. The monster was inside his mind, ready to commit the final act.

It was about to steal my father's soul.

But this is where I had stopped it. I had cast some spell that drove the beast away. But my father was devoid of this power.

I watched his shaking come to a halt. He was gone. My father, the man who raised me, was gone. Even though he may have been hard on me, I still loved him.

A single tear rolled down my cheek. Then more came, and I had a waterfall flowing down my face.

I was alone. My two parents had been robbed. My mother died one year after my birth. We went to sleep, and she was dead.

And now, my father had died the same way. Hell, the creature would have taken me too.

But I was different. I could withstand its evil powers, and I was able to rid it from my body.


End file.
